[Relational Evidence in Preventive Child Protection: Evaluation of a Manual Based Group Intervention "Strengthening Resources of Mentally Ill and Addicted Parents"]. / Relationale Wirksamkeit im präventiven Kinderschutz: Evaluation der modularen Gruppenintervention "Ressourcen psychisch kranker und suchtkranker Eltern stärken".

Relational Evidence in Preventive Child Protection: Evaluation of a Manual Based Group Intervention "Strengthening Resources of Mentally Ill and Addicted Parents" This article describes results of the evaluation of the manual-based group intervention programme "Strengthening Resources of mentally ill and addicted Parents". This intervention's objective is to encourage parents in mentalization, emotional regulation, coping with stress and social support competencies. Strengthening these reflexive competencies aims at promoting parents' recourses and minimizing risks for child abuse. Therefore, the evaluation design is based on data triangulation: combining standardised instruments and qualitative interviews of participants and professional providers. Besides intervention effects, this design aims to analyse aspects by parents' and professionals' subjective perspectives, which promote the interventions in it's effect. 160 parents participated. The results show, that parents feel statistical significant less overwhelmed by the responsibility of being a parent, recognise more capacity to act and support in everyday. Qualitative data analysis reinforces these results and shows how the manual's concept supports parents' benefit from the intervention in their every day life.

Health literacy in childhood and youth: a systematic review of definitions and models.

BACKGROUND: Children and young people constitute a core target group for health literacy research and practice: during childhood and youth, fundamental cognitive, physical and emotional development processes take place and health-related behaviours and skills develop. However, there is limited knowledge and academic consensus regarding the abilities and knowledge a child or young person should possess for making sound health decisions. The research presented in this review addresses this gap by providing an overview and synthesis of current understandings of health literacy in childhood and youth. Furthermore, the authors aim to understand to what extent available models capture the unique needs and characteristics of children and young people. METHOD: Six databases were systematically searched with relevant search terms in English and German. Of the n = 1492 publications identified, N = 1021 entered the abstract screening and N = 340 full-texts were screened for eligibility. A total of 30 articles, which defined or conceptualized generic health literacy for a target population of 18 years or younger, were selected for a four-step inductive content analysis. RESULTS: The systematic review of the literature identified 12 definitions and 21 models that have been specifically developed for children and young people. In the literature, health literacy in children and young people is described as comprising variable sets of key dimensions, each appearing as a cluster of related abilities, skills, commitments, and knowledge that enable a person to approach health information competently and effectively and to derive at health-promoting decisions and actions. DISCUSSION: Identified definitions and models are very heterogeneous, depicting health literacy as multidimensional, complex construct. Moreover, health literacy is conceptualized as an action competence, with a strong focus on personal attributes, while also recognising its interrelatedness with social and contextual determinants. Life phase specificities are mainly considered from a cognitive and developmental perspective, leaving children's and young people's specific needs, vulnerabilities, and social structures poorly incorporated within most models. While a critical number of definitions and models were identified for youth or secondary school students, similar findings are lacking for children under the age of ten or within a primary school context.

[,, I would be sad then, because they are all talking about my dad" - The Role of Stigma in Families Affected by Parental Mental Illness]. / " dann würde ich traurig werden, weil alle über meinen Papa reden" ­ Die Rolle des Stigmas in Familien mit psychisch erkranktem Elternteil.

Stigmatization of mental illness is a societal problem, and is also relevant for help-seeking. In a qualitative interview study, the role of stigma in help-seeking was examined from the perspective of parents with mental illness, their children and other relatives. Parents with mental illness assigned an important role to stigma for help-seeking processes. Children rarely made explicit statements about this, but an implicit awareness of stigma can be assumed.

[Subjective Needs of Support in Families with a Mentally Ill Parent ­ A Literature Review]. / Subjektive Hilfebedarfe in Familien mit psychisch erkranktem Elternteil - Eine Literaturübersicht.

Mentally ill parents are often sceptical about professional help for their children although these children face an increased risk to develop a mental disease themselves. To get a better understanding of needs and help-seeking behaviour in those families a systematic literature review was conducted. Four databases (FIS, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, PubPsych) were scanned for international and national research literature. Out of 18,057 articles 56 were included which report quantitative or qualitative studies taking the children's and parents' perspectives into account. A thematic synthesis was done to categorize the needs. Results concerning the help-seeking behaviour and the influence of demographic variables were extracted and summarized. Our results were limited by the aspect that no evaluation of study quality had been made and influences on the categorizing process by the authors' subjective perceptions are likely. There were a lot of hints regarding the needs of the families, but little report was found about help-seeking behaviour and demographic variables. The "health literacy" concept was discussed as a basis for further research in this area.

[Individual and common coping in families with parents suffering from schizophrenia]. / Individuelles und gemeinsames Coping in Familien mit schizophren erkrankten Eltern.

Using a triangulation design the individual and family coping strategies in families with parents suffering from schizophrenia are ascertained and contrasted utilising qualitative and quantitative data. For children (n = 25) three coping strategies are identified: "Aggressive coping", "controlling coping", and "moderate coping" i. e. inconspicuous coping. Parents seem to model coping for their children. Qualitative analysis of data for 35 families revealed five patterns of shared familial coping-processes. A clear picture emerges showing that the children's contribution to family functioning consists essentially of taking on responsibility and family tasks. The results emphasize the need for family-oriented interventions.

[Configuring relationship--a condition for a functional institutional cooperation to assure assistance for children with mentally ill parents]. / Beziehung gestalten--eine Voraussetzung für wirksame interinstitutionelle Kooperation bei Hilfen für Kinder psychisch kranker Eltern.

A functional cooperation between support systems of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic facilities and of youth-welfare institutions is necessary to assure operant assistance for children of parents with psychiatric illness and their families. In many cases the cooperation efforts stay on structural layer without taking the configuration of the relationship between the agents into consideration. Despite high relevance for practical working there are only a few empirical studies, which are concerned with relationship configuration. In a quality investigation requirements of collaboration on inter-institutional and internal-institutional layer were explored as well as case-related and case-crossed cooperation. On the basis of empirical results concretical recommended proceedures were given for configure the relationship in coorporation at the interface of support systems and amplified of specifical requirements of psychiatric/psychotherapeutic and youth-welfare institutions.

[Coping in children of parents with schizophrenia--strikingly deceptive strategies]. / Coping bei Kindern schizophren erkrankter Eltern--eine täuschend gute Bewältigung.

Our study collected qualitative and quantitative data about the illness-related experience of burden and about the coping strategies of children aged 8 to 13, who live with parents suffering from schizophrenia. Using the method of triangulation, we compare the content of script-based interviews conducted with 10 children to data concerning cross-situational coping strategies of these children, which we collected using a standardized method (SVF-KJ). Children in this population are exposed to a special kind of burden which is characterized by an high number of situations they find beyond their control, by a lack of stable family structures and by episodes of abrupt separation from parents because of hospitalisation, which, in some cases, the children remember as traumatizing. We observed coping attempts of children who live with a heavy burden in the shape of increased instrumental problem solving approaches, while the same children simultaneously exhibiting a reduced ability to share responsibility or to avoid situations which they cannot cope with through their problem solving attempts. In cases where favourable emotion regulation fails, these children quickly exhibit higher levels of aggressive behaviour. Their great need for social support stands in opposition to difficulties to accept help or recognize help as being available, which were reported by the children. The presence of a healthy parent and an age-adequate information on the illness of their parents have proven to be beneficial to the children's coping. Our findings confirm the necessity of increased social support to children of parents with mental disorder by extending the cooperation between institutions and by supporting social networks.

What are the family needs when a parent has mental health problems? Evidence from a systematic literature review.

PROBLEM: Little evidence exists showing how a given high-risk group of children born to parents with poor mental health seek help and how care may be improved in order to better reach and support their families. METHODS: A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify the needs and help-seeking behaviors of children and their parents. Through an analysis of both quantitative and qualitative studies, published in German- and English-speaking research literature, the needs of children and parents were identified and categorized. Findings concerning their help-seeking behavior and the influence of demographic variables on needs and help-seeking behaviors were also described. FINDINGS: In the primary studies, the most identified parental needs were "the need for being a good parent"; "worries about the child's well-being"; and "the need for practical help." For children, the categories identified included "the need for knowledge"; "worries about parent's well-being"; and "the need for normality." However, information about help-seeking behaviors and influences of demographic factors was fairly limited in the literature. CONCLUSIONS: In families with parental mental health problems, it seems especially important to take a family-focused approach. The individual needs of children (and their families) should shape the planning of treatment and nursing care.